How to Make Advent Meaningful for Your Family w/ Tim Penner & Jo Rivard

What if a simple family tradition could transform holiday excitement into lifelong purpose and faith?

On this episode of the Collide Kids Podcast, host Christen Clark welcomes Tim Penner and Jo Rivard, the creative minds behind Tiny Truths, for a conversation filled with laughs, inspiration and practical ideas for raising Christian kids. Discover fresh ways to make Advent meaningful, nurture spiritual growth during family time, and help your family shine their light not just in December but all year long.

Resources:

• Tiny Truths website: https://tinytruthsbible.com/
• CTA Kids: https://www.ctainc.com/collections/tiny-truths
• Podcasting with Purpose Webinar Nov. 18: https://subscribepage.io/nGKK4E
• Website: collidekidspodcast.com
• Instagram: @collidekidspod

**Special thanks to Minno for sponsoring this episode! Visit gominno.com to learn more about this amazing streaming service.

Clip Finder: 

The Power of Creative Partnerships: "I've never had a creative partnership like this that just seems to work so well. There's so much joy in it and there's so much fun in it, but also we're doing this meaningful work."
— Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:08:27 → 00:09:05]

Adapting to Change in Animation: "I studied classically hand drawn animation, right as everything was going digital... I was fortunate enough to find a studio that liked my drawings and liked my ideas enough to say, we'll teach you how to do this on a computer... So it was an incredible."
— Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:09:57 → 00:10:35]

Joining Forces for Animated Kids Books: "I had always wanted to make kids books. And it just seemed like we had the perfect combination of skills to come together and make little funny, silly animated kids books with little simple animations and funny sound effects."
— Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:11:28 → 00:11:48]

Viral Parenting Inspiration: "I think it's an opportunity for parents and kids to start to discover all of the ways there are to really live out the way we're meant to Live and to reflect God's love in the world the way we're meant to."
— Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:14:07 → 00:14:18]

Viral Family Holiday Traditions: "We sort of try to have a good mix of all the ways in which we think that you can shine your light in the world and share God's love with your neighbors, with each other, in your Family. There are intentional days of rest put in as well, which we think is very important."
— Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:16:37 → 00:16:50]

Viral Topic: The Beauty of Advent's Pause  
"It's a chance to slow down, to remind ourselves of what's important in the season, to remember the Christmas story and to remember what our role is in it."
— Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:18:56 → 00:19:08]

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Transcript

Christen Clark [00:00:30]:

Hey, friends. Welcome back to the Collide Kids Podcast. I'm your host, Christen Clark, and I am so glad you're here. The Collide Kids Podcast is a show for kids and families where we learn together how life and faith collide. Now, before we jump in, if you're a parent listening and you could use a little bit encouragement during your busy week, be sure to check out my other podcast, 7 Minute Devotions for Busy Parents. Those are short twice a week devotionals and they're designed to give you just a quick boost of truth and hope right where you are. So definitely subscribe and find those wherever you get your podcast. Okay, let's talk about today's episode.

Christen Clark [00:01:05]:

I know, I know it might seem a little early to start thinking about Christmas, especially if you're like my husband who believes that Christmas decorations should never go up before Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, I'm over here thinking once the fireworks from 4th of July are done, maybe it's time to get the Christmas tree out. That's how I view things. But here's the thing. It's actually not too early to start planning for Advent. And if you are wondering what exactly is Advent? Or how can my family make that season more meaningful, well, let me just tell you, you're in the right place. Today, we are talking all about that. My guests are Tim Penner and Jo Rivard.

Christen Clark [00:01:43]:

They're two friends who've been creating amazing faith filled content for kids for over 15 years. Together, they're the creative minds behind Tiny Truths, a brand that makes fun and engaging books and resources to help kids and their families live out the way God made them to live. They've published several books with Zonderkids, including an illustrated Bible, and recently partnered with CTA Kids to create real life products for churches and families. This is, it's. It's amazing. I think you're gonna walk away from this episode with some awesome ideas for how your family can reflect and celebrate the true meaning of of the season together. So whether you're already humming Christmas carols or you're holding out until Thanksgiving, it's fine. Either way, this conversation is still for you.

Christen Clark [00:02:29]:

Here is my conversation with Tim Penner and Jo Rivard. Well, Tim and Jo, I am so happy to have you on the Collide Kids podcast today.

Intro [00:02:49]:

Thanks so much for having us. It's A pleasure.

Christen Clark [00:02:50]:

Yeah, this is great. We have a really good mutual friend named Kim Hudson. She's been on the show a couple times and she was like, you need to meet Tim and Jo. So I'm really glad I'm getting to meet you because you come highly recommended.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:03:02]:

Kim's the best, so we'll take that.

Christen Clark [00:03:04]:

Would you guys just introduce yourselves, tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:03:08]:

I'm Tim, half of Tim and Jo, half of Tiny Truths. I'm the illustrating and co creating half of Tiny Truths. I studied animation for years. Now I illustrate and just basically make stuff with Jo.

Christen Clark [00:03:23]:

Yep.

Intro [00:03:24]:

And I'm Jo. I'm the other half of Tiny Truths. And we've been working together for, gosh, 15 years maybe. And we've done lots of different creative projects along the way. Maybe we can get into that a little bit more. But I'm more of the writing side of the partnership. But we have a unique approach where we kind of build things from the ground up and work on everything together. And it's just the two of us.

Intro [00:03:46]:

Tiny choose is just. Just two people doing what we do.

Christen Clark [00:03:50]:

So you are the team.

Intro [00:03:51]:

We are the whole team.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:03:52]:

We are the whole team.

Christen Clark [00:03:53]:

The whole team. I love that.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:03:55]:

That's awesome. Joke about the marketing department is looking into this and the art department's doing this. We'll send it to editorial and it's always just us.

Intro [00:04:05]:

It's just us.

Christen Clark [00:04:06]:

I love it. Now will you explain what Tiny Truths is?

Intro [00:04:09]:

Well, we were making apps actually a long time ago, the two of us with a different company that we launched. And one day we were kind of, we were making these storybook interactive apps for kids, which we loved. They were really fun, full of joy in life. We decided that we wanted to make something that had a similar tone, that was, you know, full of laughter and joy, but that was Bible based. And we started out by making interactive Bible story apps. This was a long time ago, back when the iPad was a very new thing. And then as things developed, but we just decided that we really wanted to make an illustrated kid's Bible. And so that was kind of the beginning of things.

Intro [00:04:49]:

We were fortunate enough to approach Zondervan Zonderkids and they were willing to make this with us. And it all started from there, really. So we make Bible based books, products, resources for kids and families. And we just want them to be fun, to be engaging and to help kids understand who they are and who God is and that they have a place in his amazing story.

Christen Clark [00:05:15]:

I love that.

Intro [00:05:15]:

That's.

Christen Clark [00:05:16]:

And that's so needed. Right? It's. You know, there's lots of things out there, so to have that based in biblical truth is so important for kids and for families. Well, good. Well, I am excited to talk with you and hear your story, but before we get into that, because this is a show for kids, I always ask my guests to tell me a joke. So what have you got for us?

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:05:36]:

Okay. I don't think it's one that's that new, but it's my favorite.

Christen Clark [00:05:40]:

Okay.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:05:41]:

The joke is what do you call a fish with no eyes?

Christen Clark [00:05:47]:

I like that one.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:05:49]:

I'm sure everybody's heard it, but the way I came to hear it is something that I just am so happy every time I think of it.

Intro [00:05:56]:

We like a spelling joke too, because we like words. That's one of our things. And saying, you know, a lot of.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:06:00]:

Kids based jokes are puns. So we were looking for something that wasn't punished. No offense to puns and wordplay.

Christen Clark [00:06:07]:

That's good. I like it. Okay, so let's talk a little bit more about tiny truths. I love that you shared that you were creating interactive, like, apps for iPads and things like that. But before that, before all of that got started, how did you guys connect with each other? Or let's even go further back than that. Were you guys interested in drawing and writing as kids, or is that something that you developed when you became older?

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:06:32]:

All I did with my free time was draw. I. I would. I probably drew every day at some point. I loved. I was pretty active and I played a lot of sports and I did a lot of things, but I spent hours, days, weeks in my room. I had a desk. And from the time probably that I was 10, I took it very serious.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:06:49]:

It wasn't just a thing to kill time. I. I tried to learn how to do it from a very young age and spent a ton of time doing it.

Christen Clark [00:06:57]:

Mm.

Intro [00:06:58]:

I've always been a book kid. Like, I've always just loved books. Loved stories. I read and read as a kid. I was a really shy kid and I just loved my books. And I loved writing things. All sorts of things. Not just stories, but I loved writing letters.

Intro [00:07:10]:

Remember those? Yes.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:07:12]:

We love real books. We love holding books.

Intro [00:07:16]:

Holding it still too. Yeah. We still love surrounding myself with books and even to this day, really believe in, like holding books and reading to my. To my kids who are at the point where they roll their eyes, but I'm massively still persisting. And I think, yeah, I Love having books scattered around the house. Could talk about that for days. So, yeah, I grew up writing stories and just writing. I just have always loved words.

Intro [00:07:38]:

And I think what's funny about us is we grew up in very different parts of the world, Tim, here in Canada, and I actually grew up in Nigeria as a missionary kid and then later in the uk. You know, God somehow brought us together across the ocean. It's just so interesting to me how you, you know, God brings you to different places and you meet people and we have so much in common. We grew up in such different. Such different worlds. Yeah.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:08:02]:

We have a very similar sensibility, a very similar sense of humor. I think our tastes are aligned, but are just different enough. We aren't completely the same person. I think our strengths and our weaknesses really balance each other out well. But we're similar enough to sort of see the same thing at the end of whatever we're working towards and to be able to work towards it together. It's remarkable. I've. Because I worked in animation for years.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:08:27]:

I've worked creatively, collaboratively my whole sort of professional life. And I've. I've never had a creative partnership like this that just seems to work so well. There's so much joy in it and there's so much fun in it, but also we're doing this meaningful work. And I don't say that because what we. I think what we create is so meaningful. But the themes and the ideas we take very, very, very seriously. And so even just to have a friend to work through that stuff through, to read, to share, to debate, discuss and solve this stuff in the process of making these books, in simplifying the messages, there's so much joy in it.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:09:05]:

And it's been a really, really meaningful friendship, a really meaningful creative partnership.

Intro [00:09:10]:

Yeah, same. I think we're really fortunate. I think it's a unique. A unique setup that we have.

Christen Clark [00:09:15]:

I love that you said, like, we're very similar and yet we're very different in our strengths and the way that we compliment each other. Because I think that's something we encourage our K kids. You know, look for someone that's running next to you, look for someone that's going in the same direction as you. They don't have to be exactly like you, but if they're focused on that same thing, that's going to be a really. A really good friendship and a really good collaboration. If you're doing something for the Lord that helps you, if you have the same purpose, I'd love to Know, what did you do before you started, Tim? You just said you were in animation for many years. So what was that transition like going from doing animation to doing what you're doing now?

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:09:53]:

It's sort of funny because I've never sort of ended up doing the thing I thought I would end up doing because I studied classically hand drawn animation, right as everything was going digital. So basically I learned to hand draw, animate, and then went to get a job. And everything was basically going technology. Like the technology was getting better and it was all going completely computer animated. So I was fortunate enough to find a studio that liked my drawings and liked my ideas enough to say, we'll teach you how to do this on a computer. If you come in, we're not going to pay you, but we'll teach you how to do this. So I kind of ended up getting free education, real world free education in a studio doing really, really high end work. So it was an incredible.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:10:35]:

Without that break, I don't think that I'm here at all. I don't know how I would have found my way into the industry. And so it was a commercial studio doing mostly little characters on countertops. It was a lot of the Pillsbury Doughboy and talking M&Ms. And like those, those kids cereal. It was all that kind of stuff. So I did that for about seven years. And then the job started to get less interesting and I had sort of reached a point where I had learned everything that I was going to be able to learn there.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:11:06]:

I had sort of done everything I was able to do there. And I was, I was getting restless, but I wasn't quite sure what the transition would be. Yeah, and then Jo was working on some kids books independently. She was writing and working with an illustrator to make some kids books. And I mean, how it all came to. There are so many factors and so many things that came together, but the short of it is we sort of looked at each other and we thought, you know, there's this new technology that pairs animation with storybooks, with illustration with kids books. And I had always wanted to make kids books. And it just seemed like we had the perfect combination of skills to come together and make little funny, silly animated kids books with little simple animations and funny sound effects.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:11:48]:

And so then that was enough of a reason for me to quit and we started doing that together.

Christen Clark [00:11:53]:

So Jo, what about you? Like, what were you doing before you got into this? Were you just writing lots of stuff for other people or were you coming up with your own thing?

Intro [00:12:01]:

I was doing lots of things, but the big thing that I did was a PhD in French existential literature. And.

Christen Clark [00:12:07]:

Wow. Okay. So completely using your degree right now. Right?

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:12:12]:

So kids lit.

Intro [00:12:13]:

Every school think, I have an existential crisis. And I think this is perfect. I can use that literature. But no. And my kids are not interested at all French philosophers from the 1940s, which I think is a real shame, but it was.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:12:25]:

Stay tuned for our next series.

Intro [00:12:26]:

Yeah.

Christen Clark [00:12:27]:

Yes. I can't wait.

Intro [00:12:28]:

It's going to be so niche. But it really was that love of literature, that love of writing, and for me, it was this amazing opportunity just to study. I lived in France for a while to do research, to read and to write. And then after I moved to Canada, I had my first daughter and my only daughter, actually my first child. And it was that point that I started writing a bit more fiction. And I also started looking around for a. A kid's Bible that I really, really loved and at the time, couldn't find the one that was perfect for us. And so that also coincided with us starting Tiny Truths.

Christen Clark [00:13:03]:

I mean, I think that's a lot of what parents do sometimes, too. People that come on here and are creating resources. It's because I was looking for it for my kids and I couldn't find it. I mean, that's where this show came from. So I'd love to hear a little bit more about Tiny Truths and, like, what your resources are, what you have to offer for families. So can you share a little bit about that?

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:13:21]:

Yeah. So first we made the Illustrated Bible, which is 32 stories. And the next thing we made was a book called Wonder and Wisdom, which was little lessons from psalms and proverbs about how to live wisely and love. Well, because we wanted immediately we wanted to try to bring in an element of sort of practical love. Faith in action. Love in action. Okay, so if this is your story and this is who God is, and this is who you are, what does that mean for how you actually live your life? So we wanted to bring that practical element into it.

Intro [00:13:52]:

That's good.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:13:53]:

And then we were able to make a devotional that's got about 70 devotionals called the Tiny Drew's Little Lights Devotional. And it's all about shining your light and sharing God's love, Caring for the things God cares for, loving the things God loves. And again, it's. I think it's an opportunity for parents and kids to start to discover all of the ways there are to really live out the way we're meant to Live and to reflect God's love in the world the way we're meant to. So we made that devotional and then they also made a little squishy cover board book version of our Bible. That's pretty adorable.

Christen Clark [00:14:25]:

That's cool.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:14:26]:

And then we started making print ready digital download resources, coloring pages, activity pages. We made a discovery journal for wonder and wisdom that's sort of, I think, meant to be done. Parent and kid together or teacher and kid together. Because again with everything, we try to give parents the words, we try to start the conversations, we try to give the adults sort of the tools they need to, to have these interesting conversations with their kids and to really have thoughtful, meaningful conversations with their kids about this stuff that are still fun and lots of opportunity to color and draw, but also to be thankful to, to practice gratitude, all these different things. And then finally the lifelong, the tiny truth lifelong. The lifelong dream of making actual products with someone has just, has just happened with CTA kids, our new best friends. And we've got a couple things that we've made this Christmas. One of them is a tablecloth coloring sheet that's 6ft by 2ft that has basically the whole Christmas story and all the characters on it.

Intro [00:15:33]:

So fun.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:15:33]:

And it's really fun and it's adorable and it's huge. And it's great because it's a project everyone could do together. It's a thing that you can do while you wait to get started. But also it's a great community coloring project. It's great because everybody can sit around a table and participate. We've even seen really sweet opportunities with parents and CMLs and stuff, able to have little conversations going because you get just distracted enough by coloring and you're just sitting there and you're able to kind of spark those things. And so we're very excited about that. And then we also made a little Lights Countdown to Christmas which goes with our Little Lights Devotional.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:16:14]:

And what it is is it's. It's a countdown 24 days from December 1st to December 24th. And each day is a little lantern, a little colorful lantern hung on a line with the numbers on it. And when you flip them over, each one has an activity on the back, a family activity. Sometimes it's creative, sometimes it's in your community, sometimes it's in your home. We sort of try to have a good mix of all the ways in which we think that you can shine your light in the world and share God's love with your neighbors, with each other, in your Family. There are intentional days of rest put in as well, which we think is very important.

Christen Clark [00:16:50]:

Yeah, so important.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:16:52]:

It's basically an activity and an Advent calendar in sort of the Walmart chocolate behind a closed door sense. Yeah, more than like the four candles. But we think it's a perfect way as. As you count down and look forward to Jesus coming, that you will experience the joy in living the way we're meant to live in doing all of these things. The hope is, is that it gets families thinking and excited about how to really make a difference in the world that way.

Christen Clark [00:17:18]:

Yeah, I love that. And I think it's so important, like you said, to carry it outside of the holiday season because we're. We can be real. The church is really generous. Everyone gets, you know, they want to give, they want to share, they want to be a part of community and things like that. And then it's like January hits and it shuts back down. And that doesn't make sense, you know, so to give families this idea, like, you can do this now around Christmas. You can also do this in February and March and November, like, you can continue this throughout the year and keep serving together and keep shining your light.

Christen Clark [00:17:50]:

So I think that's really important. I love that. So let's talk a little bit about Advent. We're not in it yet, but I know there's lots of families right now that are thinking, okay, I gotta go to Walmart or Aldi or wherever and get my chocolate calendar to count down the season. Tell us a little bit about what Advent is. Maybe people haven't heard of that before. They're not quite sure. Can you explain that?

Intro [00:18:10]:

Well, I'm not a theologian or a pastor, but I'll do my best. And my understanding of Advent is that it is about waiting for something that has been promised. And what I think is so special about this season in the kind of the church year, is that there's the anticipation and the excitement, but also this moment where you can slow down and you can stop. And although it can be busy and, you know, we can find ourselves hurtling into the Christmas season, I think the beauty of it is this chance to pause. And traditionally, you do something every Sunday through Advent. There are four Sundays leading up to Christmas, and each week would have a different focus, whether it be love, joy, hope, or peace. But for us, I think very simply, it's a chance to slow down, to remind ourselves of what's important in the season, to remember the Christmas story and to remember what our role is in it. And for Us, I guess, Tiny Shoes, specifically, it's thinking about how can we get out into the community and share our light, even while we share in the excitement of, you know, what's coming at Christmas.

Intro [00:19:19]:

And I know for kids, obviously there's a huge excitement about the gifts and so the really fun stuff like the decorating. And we love all of that, but it's just helping families to slow down, to carve out a tiny bit of space to remember what's really important and to be reflective.

Christen Clark [00:19:38]:

Yeah. And I think having a devotional really would help a lot of people be able to do that. So I love this. I think that's so important. And I know there's lots of people that are interested. Where can they find out more about getting your devotionals and your resources?

Intro [00:19:53]:

Well, best place is probably the CTA website. And lots of our resources are. Well, all of our resources are also on our website, tiny shoes bible.com the two pieces that we talked about, the countdown to Christmas and the coloring table cover, those are on the CTA website.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:20:12]:

And they also carry our books. So if you want to support a cool, small, independent business.

Intro [00:20:19]:

Yes.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:20:20]:

And not a bigger one, whichever one that might be, show them some love because is awesome. The people behind it are amazing. They become great friends and people we really admire, really respect and are absolutely thrilled to be in partnership with. And so go to ctakids.com check it out and show them some love because they're amazing. Yeah.

Christen Clark [00:20:45]:

Yeah. And. And we should say that CTA kids is they. They're providing resources for the church. So they're. They've got lots of things. So if you're a small group leader at your church or you're a kids pastor, or you're just a really awesome volunteer like me, let your church know about this because it could be a great resource. Or if you're in a small group or you have a large family, like, go in and look at their resources and see if there's something that would be interesting for you and your family, especially for this Christmas season, because I think that would be amazing.

Christen Clark [00:21:14]:

So I'm excited about Advent. We have a few weeks. We're a few weeks away. And so there's plenty of time for people to start thinking about that now and be prepared when it's time to get started and be really intentional this year. Because I think. I think for me, a lot of times I'm like, oh, I should have done this. Like, you know, it's like December 4th, and I'm like, I forgot. And so I just don't do anything.

Christen Clark [00:21:35]:

So even if you're listening to this later, you can still start anytime and celebrate the season. So that's really great that you guys have this. So thank you for doing that. Well, before I let you guys go, I always ask my guests to tell me a memory from when they were a kid. So do you guys have a memory you want to share with us?

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:21:52]:

I was trying to think of, like, one single memory that would be worth telling. And I just started feeling very nostalgic for my whole childhood because I was. We were fortunate enough to grow up before screens and phones and all of it. And when I picture myself, I'm sure I'm picturing some Norman Rockwell version of what was reality, but I just picture myself sitting in front of the TV on Saturday morning eating alphabets and watching cartoons in the Muppet Show.

Christen Clark [00:22:18]:

Yeah.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:22:19]:

Kiwi's Playhouse.

Intro [00:22:20]:

And I.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:22:21]:

And just running around outside and. And having a wild imagination and drawing and creating art and I think just having the space in my head and the freedom to just do all of those things. And then what's so funny is little has changed about how I live my life now. You might just find me eating alphabets, watching cartoons. I've spent my whole life just drawing cartoons and making animation and sort of living in that world and that state of mind. And so I think I'm just so grateful and thankful for the childhood I had and when I had it, because I just rode my big wheel around and played with my Star wars figures. You know what I mean?

Christen Clark [00:23:00]:

That's great.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:23:01]:

I was fortunate.

Christen Clark [00:23:03]:

Jo, what about you?

Intro [00:23:04]:

Oh, again, nothing specific, but I did have a pet goat who was a stray and we rescued her and we bottle fed her. And I love animals to this day, so I think, yeah, having a pet goat is a favorite memory.

Christen Clark [00:23:16]:

I love that you're like, nothing special, just a pet goat. Not everybody says that, Jo.

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:23:21]:

It's the benefits of growing up in Nigeria. Yeah, goats. Ye.

Christen Clark [00:23:26]:

Now, was this like you like your family went out one day to purchase a goat or it just wandered into your house or how did that happen?

Intro [00:23:32]:

No, we found her. That's the story. I mean, I was tiny. We found her and her name was Laraba, which meant Wednesday, because apparently we found her on a Wednesday and she didn't have a home. And so, yeah, we bottle fed her.

Christen Clark [00:23:44]:

Okay. And did she live inside or was she an outside goat?

Intro [00:23:47]:

She's an outside goat. Yeah, they're quite naughty goats. I don't think we want. She wasn't allowed Inside.

Christen Clark [00:23:52]:

Okay. Yeah. They'd probably eat everything, right?

Tim and Jo - Tiny Truths [00:23:53]:

Exactly.

Christen Clark [00:23:55]:

That's amazing. I love that. Well, thank you guys again so much for being on the show again. Thank you for what you're doing and keep it up because I think God is going to bless that for sure. So thank you for, for what you do. That was so fun. I loved hearing their stories and I love that she had a goat. How cool is that? It was so great meeting them today.

Christen Clark [00:24:22]:

I love when they were talking about how there's so much joy in doing work that has a greater purpose. And I love learning about Tiny Truths and they're Bible based books and resources for families that they want to be fun but also help kids learn and understand who they are, who God is. And that kids, you have a place in this amazing story of God's kingdom. I just love that. I love that they've created this resource around families serving together and learning creative ways to let your light shine, especially for this upcoming Christmas season so that you can learn to experience the joy that comes with living out your purpose and the way God intended us to be. A light in the world that's so cool. And then it can carry over into the rest of your year. It doesn't have to stop after the holiday season is over.

Christen Clark [00:25:11]:

I love when Jo was sharing with us about Advent. She said it's about waiting and anticipation as we look at the Christmas story. It's about waiting for Christ to come again and also focusing on resting and slowing down and carving out that time and space to remember what is really important and appreciate all the different ways that God has blessed your family. If you'd like to learn more about Tiny Truths and their resources and the amazing things they have for you as a family and also for your church, head over to tinytruthsbible.com and and if you're a church leader or you know of a church leader that's looking for great resources, visit ctainc.com and we'll have all those links in our show notes. You can check that out. All right, now it's time for one of my favorite parts of the show. This is our family discussion segment called let's Talk About It. So this is where we're going to ask a few fun questions and you guys can have some conversations right now.

Christen Clark [00:26:06]:

You can pause between each one or maybe you can listen to all three and pick out the one you like the best. Whatever you want to do, whatever works best for your family. So let's talk about it. Here's the first one. Advent is all about waiting and anticipation. What are some things your family looks forward to during the Christmas season? And how can you use that excitement to help you focus on Jesus? Number two Tiny truths today reminded us that everyone has a place in God's big story. How do you think God wants to use you to share his love this season? And here's the last one we talked about how Advent is about slowing down and being thankful. So what is one way your family can make space to rest, pray, or just enjoy time together and carry that habit into the new year? I like that one.

Christen Clark [00:27:09]:

Well, I hope these questions spark some great ideas and conversations with your family. Hey, if you enjoyed today's episode, would you just make a point to connect with us on social media? I'm on Facebook and Instagram @collidekids pod and then you can share this episode with friends and family or share it on your page or whatever. Just a great way for other people to find out about the show. You can also head over to collidekidspodcast.com and catch up on past episodes. You know, it'll be a really great thing to listen to on those long car trips together with your family. A podcast. You know what podcast would be great? This one. And there's lots of episodes to choose from, so.

Christen Clark [00:27:46]:

So be sure to follow and subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast app. So you get all those episodes and they can just play back to back right after one another. If you've missed a few, you can go back and check them out. And don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel where you can watch the full interview from today's show. You can also support the podcast by leaving a rating and a review or using some of our support links on our website like the Amazon link, or if you want to click Buy me a Coffee. That's a great way you can provide some financial support. And as always, I'm so grateful for your prayers over this ministry. That's such a huge, huge way that you can support Collide Kids Podcast.

Christen Clark [00:28:24]:

Well, I know I don't want to say Merry Christmas yet. I won't, I promise. But I am excited about the Advent season and I hope that you will be able to prepare to be intentional for this countdown to Christmas. I'm excited for you. I hope you guys have an amazing rest of your week. And in case no one has told you today, I would love to be the first to remind you that God loves you so, so much. Thanks for listening.